


Prove Yourself

by natlet



Category: Sons of Anarchy
Genre: F/M, Unrequited Love
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2012-11-28
Updated: 2012-11-28
Packaged: 2017-11-19 18:43:19
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 679
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/576456
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/natlet/pseuds/natlet
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>She's Clay's old lady, is the thing.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Prove Yourself

**Author's Note:**

> for the [SOA kinkmeme](http://soakink.livejournal.com/)
> 
> content note: the misogyny is kinda thick in this.

Every now and then Tig will be balls-deep in some bitch and she'll moan just the right way, or she'll call him sweetheart, or her hair will part across the back of her neck, and for a second or two he'll have to work real hard to remember exactly where he is. He's used to it by now, even if it still throws him for a loop during sex - he can understand when it happens at the dinner table or at a bar or something, but they've never fucked - and he's gotten pretty good at ignoring it, but it's like sometimes, his head just can't help bringing up Gemma.

She's Clay's old lady, is the thing - so of course Tig thinks about her, keeps an eye on her, takes responsibility in a way he doesn't for Luann or Donna or even Wendy. His goal is to keep Clay breathing, and that gets a lot harder if Clay's worried about Gemma, so sometimes when things get tense Tig ends up following her around for a few days. It's not a big deal. He carries her purse and her groceries and takes her to the fucking garden center and makes sure nobody tries to kidnap her or shoot her, and he plays it up like it's torture when the guys give him shit for it, but really, hanging out with Gemma wouldn't be so bad even if they weren't friends. Tig likes spending time with her. She keeps him comfortable and fed and high as a fucking kite, she asks about his kids without asking too much and makes stupid jokes with him, and in return, he doesn't get too pissed off when she pushes him around or tries to take off on him. Sure, he hates missing out on club business, and being left behind sucks, and the lump of cold he thinks they probably both carry around in their chests never really goes away until Clay's back in one piece, but Gemma makes most of it bearable.

She trusts him, and more to the point Clay trusts him with her, and he can play it off as just a job, something that comes with wearing the patch, but there's a part of him that knows that's bullshit. It doesn't feel like that - he doesn't know what it does feel like, not really, but he knows for sure it's not duty, not obligation, not toward either of them. 

Maybe it was, once, but that was a long time ago.

It's not like he's carrying a torch or anything. His daughters are proof enough of that. When Tig really thinks about it, maybe the four bullshit years he spent with Colleen don't make for very convincing evidence, but whatever - he lives his life, there's been plenty of other women, other relationships. Serious ones, even, like that redhead, the one with the great laugh and the long, long legs. He could've married her, too - probably would have if she'd stuck around, if she'd been able to handle the shit Gemma and the other girls dished out. Tig doesn't make the mistake of thinking that means he's fucking special or anything. Gemma and the girls, they even pull that hazing shit with the crow-eaters sometimes. But it still means she's looking out for him, which in a way does make him kinda special, even if she's looking out for the rest of the club too. He figures he can't really help how that makes him feel, if it makes him love her.

And, okay, yeah, he loves Gemma, of course he does - the guys, they all love her. She just makes it so goddamn easy. It's not a big deal - Clay makes it not an option, even though there's been a couple times when Clay's been inside and technically they could have, once when Tig almost did. But it doesn't come up, or they don't bring it up, and either way that's okay with Tig. He's always sort of figured that not knowing is better than knowing for sure that the answer's no.


End file.
